Head and socket fastener tape



March 10, 1936.

L. RosEMAN 2,033,651

HEAD AND SOCKET FASTENER TAPE` Filed Jan. 25, 1955 I. /v v l INVENToR TTORNEY Patentes Mar. 1o, 193e This inventionrelates ingeneral tov fastener tapeiincluding astrip of fabric having separable fastenerelements attachedathereto, to be applied tothe edges-of openings in garments lfor-fastening 'such `edges together. More particularly the inventionis directed to such fastener tape embodying so-called snap fasteners or head and socket-fasteners wherein the fastenerelements are covered orconcealed on the face of the strip or piece vof material to which the elements are applied', 'or on the side of the'strip which faces the complemental -strip when the fastener is in use. y

Snap fastener tape is known inthe art, as shown by my Patent No. 1,373,452 dated April 5, 1921, and in my copending application Serial No. 660,626 filed yMarch 14, 1933, I have illustrated and described another form of snap fastener tape. In tape of Vthis general type the` snap .fastener elements are arranged between two plies of material and are secured in position by lines of stitches passing through said plies snugly embracing the fastener elements at their edges or perimeters, the-stitches forming pockets between thei plies in which the fasteners are enclosed. Each fastener includes two strips of fabric each composed-of a plurality of plies, to be .secured for example to the edges of a garment opening such as the ends of a corset or brassire, one

. y having head members secured thereon between two plies land the` other having socket members to cooperate with. said head members and certain of 'the plies have perforations'in register with the respective heads and sockets to permit connection elements.

Because these structures consist of several plies of fabric, they are bulky and expensive. This thickness or bulkiness of the tape is objectionable when applied to undergarments to be worn beneath thin or sheer lingerie or dresses because the tape causes unsightly protuberances; and moreover the bulky tape is in many cases uncomfortable to the wearer. The cost of the tape and disconnection of the complemental fastener v is an important item also because a considerarnesi STATES PATN OFFEE f Np sooner FAsTENna 'raraY i VLea Roseman, Newark, N. J. Application January 25, 1935, Serial No. l3,418v

f aclaiins'., (C1. autres) Y v or on lines transversely of the elements so as to allow the fastener elements to be pulled or detached from thestrip. When the fabric `tears inthis way there is nothing left to hold the fastener element on. the strip. Y l

Also it has been considered necessary tohave at least one thicknessfof :material at each side of the fastener to assume the lstrains on the fastener in directions perpendicular tothe tapes during closing and opening of the fasteners.

In another form of fastener, the snap fastener elements are sewed on one side of a. piece of material by-stitches passing through apertures in the fasteners, the fasteners being exposed and the heads and sockets facing away from the material. This form of fastener is highly objectionable because the strains on the fastener elements during use and opening of the fastener are such as to tend yto pull the fastener elements away from the material and this results in breaking of the stitches or tearing of the stitches out of the material so as to detach the fastener elements from the material and impair or destroy the fastener. Also, because of this ithas been necessary to utilize fastener elements wherein the resistance to separation of the head and socket elements, as by the spring wires in the socket elements, is so Weak that the fastener elements can be separated without tearing the material or breaking the stitches. This spring or frictional resistance has been so weak that it has not been adequate to hold the fastener elements together during use,1 so that the fastener elements easily separate under the normal strains imposed thereon during wearing of a garmentV to which the fasteners are applied and thereby impair the usefulness of the fasteners or make it impossible to use them. Y

Therefore a prime object of thepresent invention is to provide snap fastener tape which-shall embody novel and improved features of construcf tion whereby the tape shall be thin and shall contain a small amount of fabric, and the straink on the fastener elements during use shall pull the fasteners toward and into abutting contact with the material instead of away from the material so as to reduce possibility of the fastener elements being torn from the material vand to permit use of strongerspring or frictional resistance to separation of the fastener elements, so that the tape shall be thin enough for use on undergarments to be worn beneath thin lingerie and dresses, or foi` use on such lingerie or dresses, and shall be strong, durable and relatively inexpensive.

A further object is to providesuch fastener tape which shall embody novel and improved features of construction whereby the tape can be used as a binding for the edge of a garment so as to obviate a large number of thicknesses of material at the edge of the garment.

Other objects are to provide fastener tape of the character described wherein the fastener elements shall be applied to one side of a strip with their heads or sockets registering with openings in the tape, so that the fasteners can be concealed between the strip and the garment to which the tape is applied and thereby enable the use of a minimum number of plies or thicknesses of material to ensure thinness and flexibility at the edge of the garment; to provide such a tape that can be easily and rapidly produced on auto? matic machines and eliminate the necessity of and trouble incident to inserting the fastener elements between plies of fabric which has been required with known types of snap fastener tape; and to obtain other advantages and results as will be brought out by the-following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawing in which corresponding and like parts are designated throughout the several views by the same reference characters.

Figure 1 is a composite transverse vertical sectional view through two complemental fastener tapes embodying my invention showing them applied to the edges of a garment.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing a modification of the fastener tapes.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the fastener tape having the head fasteners.

Figure 4 is a plan view partially in horizontal section on the line 4 4., of the structure shown in Figure 1. 1

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the head fastener tape shown in Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view similar to Figure 4 showing a modified manner of stitching the fastener elements on the tape, and

Figure 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view through a modified form of the tape.

Figure 8 is a fragmentaryperspective view of f the strip shown in Figure 7 with the fasteners removed.

tener elements 2 with engaging portions, in the present instance heads, at their faces to cooperate with complemental fasteners, said fastener elements being secured on one side of the strip with their said faces abutting the strip, and preferably the edges of the strip are folded inwardly at 3 to conceal raw edges when the tape is applied to a garment. The strip has a plurality of openings 4 therethrough, each in register with and to receive the head 5 of one fastener element.

The fasteners may be secured to the strip in any suitable way, but preferably are secured by stitches; and for this purpose each fastener has a plurality of apertures 6 to receive stitches, and

there is a line of stitches I extending longitudinally of the strip, and offset stitches 8 in continuation of the longitudinal line passing through the strip and the apertures 6 in the fasteners.

In applying the fastener tape to a garment, the edge of the garment is preferably turned back as at I0 and the strip is laid over said turned back edge and secured to the garment by longitudinal lines of stitching I2 which pass through the garment and the folded edges of the strip. The strip is applied to the garment so thatthe fasteners will be located between the strip and the garment.

The socket fastener tape B is the same as the head fastenertape A except that socket fasteners I3 are secured to the strip I4 instead of the head fasteners 2, and the strip I4 has openings I5 therethrough each registering with the socket of one socket fastener. The socket fasteners are secured to the strip by stitches I6 which may be identical with the stitches for securing the head fasteners to the strip I, and the strip is secured to the edge of a garment C in the same manner as the tape A is secured to the other edge of the garment.

In use, the two tapes cooperate with each other in known manner, there being one socket fastener for each head fastener, and the complemental head rfastener and socket fastener being connected and separated by movement of the head of the head fastener into and out of the socket of the socket fastener.

With this construction, it will be observed that the fastener tape is thin and includes a small amount of material. The garment itself serves as a protecting ply to conceal the fasteners whereby an extra ply on the tape for this purpose, as is common in snap fastener tape, is obviated. Therefore, the tape and edge of the garment to which it is applied will produce a minimum of bulkinness so that an undergarment bearing the tape can be worn beneath thin or sheer lingerie and dress without unsightly protuberances produced by the tape. Moreover, the seam or joint between the garment edges formed by the fastener tapes will be flexible so as to produce a minimum of discomfort to the wearer. The tape is inexpensive and easy to manufacture on automatic machines, the difficulty in inserting the fasteners between the plies during the manufacture of the tape, as is required with known formation of fastener tape, being wholly obviated.

A modification of the invention is shown in Figure 2 where the head fastener and socket fastener tapes D and E respectively are each formed of a strip of material folded longitudinally to provide two flaps. Inasmuch as both tapes are identical except as to the type of fasteners, I shall describe only one. 'I'he strip I1 of each tape is folded longitudinally at I8 to form two flaps I9 and 20. The fasteners 2| are secured on one side of one flap so as to be located between the flaps when they are folded together, and said flap has openings 22 registering with the respective fasteners. The fasteners are shown as secured to the flap by a longitudinal line of stitches 23 and lateral or offset stitches 24 which pass through the flap and apertures in the fasteners. Obviously, only one tape of the type of D or E may be used with one tape of the type A or B instead of using the two tapes of the same type.

This form of the invention is especially useful for forming a binding on the edge of a garment so as to keep the number of plies of material to the minimum. In applying the tape to the edge of a garment F, the garment edge is located between the two flaps I9 and 20 as shown in Figure 2 so that the strip embraces a garment edge,

and the tape is secured to the garment by a longitudinal line of stitches 26 which pass through both flaps and the garment. With the tape so applied, the fasteners are located between the flap to which they are secured and the garment.'

'I'he stitches 8 firmly secure the fasteners to the strip against movement in all directions. If desired, the stitches 1 may be omitted although they facilitate sewing of the fasteners and restrain tendency of the stitches 8 toravel or pull out. As shown, preferably the stitches 8 surround or at least partially surround the openings in the strip so as to reenforce the fabric at the edges of the openings and reducev possibility of tearing and fraying of the fabric.

Obviously the flaps i9 and 20 may be composed of more than one ply of material, but it will be observed that in any event the invention provides a binding tape which is simple and inexpensive and which can be applied to a garment edge to provide a flexible fastener of light bulk or thickness. The fasteners can be easily and quickly secured to this form of tape in the same manner in which they are secured to the tape shown in Figure 1.

A further modification of the invention is shown in Figure 6 wherein the lateral stitches 21 for securing the fasteners to the strips are ldifferently arranged from the stitches 8.

In Figure 7 the edge portions` of the strip 30 are turned back at 3l to form in effect a double ply strip, and the fasteners 32 are located upon the turned back portions and secured to the strip by stitches 33, e. g., like the stitches 8, which pass through the apertures in the fasteners and through both the turned back portions and the main part of the strip. This structure provides a more substantial body of fabric so that there.

is less possibility of the stitches tearing out of the fabric.

If desired the fastener elements 2 and i3 may be directly applied to a garment without; the

strips l or I4 but with the opening registering with the fasteners formed in the garment.

It will be observed that in all forms of the invention, the strains `imposed on the fastener elements during use tend to pull the fastener elements toward and into abutting contact with the material so that there will be a minimum tendency for the stitches to pull out or break, and therefore the springs in the socket members, or other means for holding the heads in the sockets may be strong enough to completely resist strains normally tending to separate the fastener elements so that there will be minimum possibility of accidental opening of the fastener or tearing of the fastener elements from the strips. The strains incident to pressingthe head and socket elements together to connect them are absorbed by the index finger and thumb of the user and the stitches prevent detachment of the fasteners from the strip, so that plies of material beneath or behind the fastener elements as heretofore used are not necessary.

With this construction by using a plurality of plies of material, the tape may be made stronger than tape -of the known types wherein the fasteners are arranged between plies of material, and with the same overall thickness of the known types'. In other words, all of the plies of material being located at one and the same side of the fastener element, give greater strength than known types with no increase in thickness.

It should be understood that while I have shown several forms of the invention, this is primarily for the purpose of illustrating the principles thereof and that the details of structure of the tape may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

It is an important feature of my invention that the fastener elements are secured or stitched on one side of the same strip or ply of material that has the openings through which the fastener elements may be connected and disconnected to and from complemental elements on another similar strip or ply of material, and that the fastener elements are arranged ,with the faces thereof carrying the engaged portions, i. e. heads or sockets, vabutting the strip so that strains thereon' during use tend to pull the fasteners against the strip rather than away therefrom. Furthermore, theinvention permits of the use of fine fabric, such as silk, for the strip instead of the usual cotton fabric, so that the appearance of a garment of fine material need not be marred but may actually be improved by the fastener `strip.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A fastener comprising a piece of material, a lrow Vof snap fasteners having engaging portions at their faces to cooperate with complemental fasteners and arranged on one side of said piece with their said faces abutting the piece, there being openings through said piece registering with the respective engaging portions, and stitches securing said fasteners to said piece only.

2. A fastener comprising a piece of material, a row of Asnap fasteners having engaging portions at theirV faces to cooperate with complemental fasteners and arranged in one side of said piece with their said faces abutting the piece, there being openings through said piece registering with the respective engaging portions, each fastener having apertures to receive stitches,l and stitches passing through said apertures and said piece for securing the fasteners on the piece.

3. The fastener set forth in claim 2, wherein said stitches also extend Vbetween said` apertures in surrounding relation to said openings to reenforce the material adjacent the edges of the openings.

LEO ROSEMAN. 

